


Quinn and Valor in Demacia

by Thixotropic



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 08:06:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5084443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thixotropic/pseuds/Thixotropic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quinn and Valor spend time in their home city. A series of brief vignettes about their personalities and life in Demacia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quinn and Valor in Demacia

**Author's Note:**

> [ The official lore ](http://gameinfo.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/game-info/champions/quinn/) is assumed knowledge.
> 
> This takes place in the same universe as my other fics.

After parting ways with the travelers from the sea before the break of dawn, Quinn began the relatively short trip back to her home in Demacia. She wouldn't have minded staying in the wilderness, protecting people from bandits, helping pilgrims and living in the wild for another week or so, but after she had arrested the people who had tried to kidnap the two that were headed to Mount Targon looking for a moonstone, she had more captives than she could care for, and needed to turn them in to the Demacian authorities.  


First, a quick stop at a civilian outpost, and then she would return home for a break to reconvene with friends and check to see if any new missions had come up. She had told Valor to fly on ahead to the outpost, as usual, where he was a signal for the guards to prepare the paperwork to check in a couple of bandits. There were arrangements for holding them and sentencing that had to be made, and Quinn had politely expressed her displeasure in the past when she was forced to wait around to answer minute questions on whether a bandit had stolen a class A or B good, or whether they had the intention to commit violence, or simply threatened without violent intent--It was a bureaucratic nightmare that she was pleased to avoid.  


Shortly before noon, Quinn had exited the woods and was on one of the main roads leading to Demacia. Although there were no paths in the forest she traveled through, she had been out tracking enough times among the trees that she never had any doubt where she was. Indeed, when she first set foot on the stone road, she was no more than a hundred feet away from the place where she predicted she would exit. Navigation was much easier when you have eyes in the sky, and even without Valor, their years of training together had given Quinn keen sense of navigation and space. She looked behind her. Five bandits, all with hands bound by ropes, with each cuff tied to a single main rope that kept them together as one unit that was impossible to lose track of. They looked resigned, but well rested. Every night since Quinn had foiled their crime and arrested them, they had little to say to each other, and fell asleep early, finding nothing else to occupy them with. Quinn appreciated how well behaved they were, which contrasted greatly with how heinous their crime was. She hadn't interrogated them, but she had heard enough tales from theives such as these to know what their story probably sounded like. They saw the mermaid, and saw her crown and inferred she carried some wealth. Times were hard, so they saw a chance to make some quick money. The kidnapping was probably a poor split-second decision by one of the members of the group in the heat of the moment. Everything, from the disorganization of the bandits, to their lack of gear or contacts with other groups or crime networks suggested that the kidanpping was probably to try and get more, possibly hidden valuables from the mermaid, or perhaps hold her for ransom. Nothing to suggest that she was in any mortal or physical danger, which was a relief to Quinn, even if it concerned something that didn't end up happening.  


Quinn knew that one of her weaknesses is that she sympathized too much with common criminals. She knows what it's like to live tough times, times of scarcity while wagons carrying wealthy people or valuable goods roll through your town on the way to Demacia. That feeling of closeness and the fact that she never saw repeat offenders lead Quinn to frequently try and diminish the crimes her captives commit when questioned about their actions, while admitting the complete truth when pressed, of course. Her judgment of the Demacian system of punishments was that it was quite fair, but she still knew that any time locked away can really wear anybody down.  


Quinn lead her less-than-merry band to a river beside the road, and reached into her bag. She took out a pouch of food, and peeked inside. Stale bread, cured sausage, root vegetables, as well as assorted scraps and leftovers that she had stowed away from foraging. A typical collection of food to have after a stay in the woods. She placed the bag on the ground, next to her captives.  


"Help yourself," she invited. There wasn't enough food for her to eat, but that didn't matter. She would be in Demacia by dusk, where she would have more food than she could possibly finish. If these bandits were about to be locked up, they might as well go with full bellies. Quinn fetched a waterskin from her bag, and made her way to the stream. She opened the cap and let out the stale, uncomfortably warm water inside, and refilled it, taking a big drink afterwards, finding it quite refreshing after a morning of travel. She topped it off was about to walk back over to the bandits, but she paused when she noticed the view in front of her.  


It was a peaceful scene of pastures and farmland rolling in soft hills. In the area around the creek, tall, unmaintained grass and cattails rose several feet. Nobody seemed to be working the fields, so Quinn figured it must be a rest day, or a market day. She always kept track of the time she spent on her missions, but she never bothered to remember the useless information of what day of the week it was. Even though autumn was beginning, the weather was still temperate and fair, only getting slightly chilly in the latest parts of night. Such a nice day in the countryside brought Quinn briefly back to her childhood, heading into the woods with her twin brother in search of treasures to sell on market day so that the two could afford some sweet bread to split...  


Although she wanted to dwell on the past longer, she had a journey to complete. Besides, she preferred to reminisce over a picnic lunch in Valor's company, not in her light armor with a team of bandits under her supervision. She made a note of the location of the creek, so she could find it later, and started back.  


When she arrived at the makeshift camp, she was pleased to see her captives were talking softly among themselves. Much more normal behavior than the silence they had exercised for about a day and a half. Two of them, one female and one male, were having some conversation while eating their fill. Another male bandit nibbled at a carrot, but seemed to have little appetite for food. The last two, a male and a female, sat away from the group, or as far away as they could with the rope that connected them. They whispered softly, and from what bits Quinn could make out, it was about their plans in and after prison. She placed the waterskin next to her now-empty food satchel, which she packed up into her bag.  


"Just don't put your mouth on it."

* * *

A few hours later, the outpost rose into view. It was a large, stone structure of several stories, looking quite out-of-place among the fields and simple homes of farmers that surrounded it. In the background, the walls and buildings of Demacia spanned the horizon, no more than an hour's walk away. During times of conflict, this outpost was a staging ground for final check-ups on battalions of troops before they marched off to the battlefield. It was a key military building, always occupied by strategists, soldiers and generals, eclipsed in significance only by the military offices in the city of Demacia itself. Now, it had been repurposed mostly for storage, as well as being the headquarters of guards and crime-prevention efforts in the land that surrounded Demacia. Quinn approached the entrance to the building and spotted an unfamiliar guard stationed out front, who looked like he was waiting for her. She presented the bandits with a nod, which was returned by the guard, who began to lead them around the building where they would be checked in. Quinn climbed up the short staircase leading up to the building and went inside through a study wood door that had been propped open.  


The entryway was empty. Unlike the military buildings in Demacia itself, it was unadorned with statues or inspirational sayings. The building had been quickly constructed in a time of need, and although it was sturdy as when it was first built, the architecture was uninspiring. Quinn walked down the hall and turned into a door on her left to check if a particular someone was there.  


In the office, behind a large, neat desk, was Melira, a close friend of Quinn's and trusted ally she had met during what was mutually their first missions. Next to her, on a perch installed long ago, was Valor, sitting peacefully after arriving a few hours earlier. Melira, as usual, was looking into a large book, studying its pages with patient care. She had dark, shoulder-length hair, which barely touched her light blue robe. Her light brown skin was darker than Quinn remembered it, suggesting she had been spending more time outside since being assigned to this station. Even though she was in a post that dealt more with common thieves than the most important of Demacian military matters, Melira was no common guard.  


Melira was a master of strategy, having studied it all her life. In fact, she was one of the few Demacians who could boast a working knowledge of ancient Ionian, which was necessary to learn from the military and historic classics of Ionia. Her appreciation for these works was something she had told Quinn about during their off-time on the battlefield quite often, and with great enthusiasm. During that campaign, the two had become close. Melira would often brief Quinn directly on what covert missions she was to complete, and the two would debate what tactics would be best to ensure success, usually all the way up until Quinn was suiting up for the mission. Valor, of course, was always present for these briefings, and as a result of his extended interaction with Melira, there were few other people Quinn would trust more to handle his care.  


Quinn silently walked up to Valor, who looked contented, and gave him a quick stroke along his back before she took a seat in the armchair across from Melira. Even though Melira was quite a fangirl for Demacia's heroes, including Quinn, it was always better to not interrupt her concentration. When Quinn had tried to read one of Melira's books, one that Melira insisted she absolutely must read, she found herself completely lost in the text only a few pages in. Melira had the experience and background knowledge to comprehend the dense writing, but it still took a lot of concentration. Quinn leaned back in the chair, enjoying having something soft to sit on, and looked around the room. Only a few minutes later, she saw Melira turn a page to the beginning of a new chapter, before inserting a delicate silver bookmark and closing the book.  


Melira looked at her guest with green-hazel eyes.  


"Quinn, it's good to see you again. Sorry about the wait."  


"It's no problem. It's good to see you well."  


The two caught each other up on what had happened in the month since they had last seen each other. Melira didn't have anything too interesting to relate to Quinn. During the current time of peace, her military knowledge was largely unneeded, so she had been assigned to the largely abandoned outpost to apply her knowledge towards organizing the paperwork that had been placed in long-term storage and mull over the logistical issues of the Demacian army. She had compiled the most important documents within three days, and came up with a satisfactory proposal for resupplying mobile military encampments by changing the schedules for deployments of reinforcements by the end of the first week, so she had spent the last few weeks after that taking time off. Reading, meeting the people tha lived in the countryside, and trying to get outside more and exercise with the guards.  


Quinn's trip had been routine, for the most part, except for her encounter with Nami and Fizz. She took out her sketchbook and showed Melira the portraits she had drawn of the two. However, she omitted the discussion she had with Nami about the society where she came from. She knew Melira would be incredibly curious and ask a long stream of questions, and Quinn knew she couldn't answer any of them satisfactorily. Better to just keep it hidden. Still, Melira was fascinated, studying Quinn's sketches carefully as she listened, no doubt mentally referencing all that she had read about the races of the ocean. Eventually, the topic of the bandits who had tried to kidnap Nami and Fizz came up.  


"Don't worry, I will make sure they're dealt with harshly."  


Quinn suddenly remembered that as much as she respected Melira's opinion and presence, she did not like her rather retributionl approach to justice. Apparently the ancient Ionians could have been quite fierce with their vengeance. As much as she enjoyed talking to her, she preferred a more impressionable guard handle the processing for the people she turned in, as it usually was.  


"I know their crime was awful, but go easy on them... They were quite subdued once I had arrested them, and I don't think the kidnapping was premeditated. They told me it was their first offense, and I'm sure if you check the records, you can verify that."  


"Quinn, you can't know what they would have done if they had succeeded. Trafficking is an extremely serious crime, and I will handle it appropriately. If they really are as good as you claim, then that will serve them well in prison. There will be no further discussion."  


Quinn was at once frustrated and impressed by Melira's resoluteness. She was always firm when she thought that she was correct. Or rather, when she knew she was correct. Even in the meetings with top generals and Prince Jarvan, Melira would rarely back down. In a way, although she really did believe that the bandits had made a mistake, Melira was correct that it could have ended horribly for the mermaid. Mistakes tend to spiral out of control like that. She was thankful that Melira could make the tough decision when she sometimes wasn't able to.  


"Well, okay then." Quinn conceded. Yielding to others was something Quinn did rarely, and always reluctantly, but it seems like most of the time she did, it was to Melira. "Thanks for handling all of the paperwork, it really makes my life easier."  


Melira's expression softened, having gotten her point across. "It's no problem really. I can just write up a report for the whole group, it won't take more than a few minutes."  


Quinn got up out of her chair. "I'm going to be off to Demacia again. It was great seeing you." Quinn looked at Valor. "Let's go home, Val."  


Valor dipped his head slightly in understanding and took off out a large, open window that was behind Melira. Melira stood up and turned around to close the window behind him.  


"It can get a bit chilly out here going into the night," she explained. She walked around the table to give Quinn a hug. "It was nice to see you too. Enjoy your time off."  


Quinn returned the hug warmly. "I'll drop by on the way out if I'm going this way. See you."  


After the hug, she turned and made her way out the front door to the entryway of the building. It was still light out, but the sun was about to touch the horizon. Just in time to get to Demacia before dark.

* * *

The sun had been down for about two hours when Quinn got to her home, an apartment in a tall residential building in the heart of Demacia, adjacent to the castle itself. It was the home of many of Demacia's important civil, military and academic leaders and professionals. Quinn was reluctant to accept a room in the building when she was first offered one, but eventually relented to the pressure from her friends, and the convenience of having all of her meetings or briefings only a short walk away. Over time, she accepted the excellent view she had of Demacia from her room and the many amenities provided by the building's managers as guilty luxuries.  


Quinn entered her room and turned on the lights. Valor was waiting, as he always was when they traveled through the city. Quinn plopped down her bags, not caring where the fell, and filled up Valor's water bowl. She hadn't done anything too draining today, but it had begun very early, and Quinn was eager to sleep in her own bed again. She removed her armor, tossing them into another heap next to her bags, and then took off her next layer of durable cotton clothes and finally her underganments while drawing a warm bath. After washing up quickly but thoroughly and drying herself off, she put on a much softer cotton undershirt and a pair of loose sleeping pants before laying down and covering herself with her sheets. Only a few reflections on her conversation with Melira and fleeting ideas about what she would do tomorrow ran through Quinn's mind before she fell fully asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Not sure how many chapters this work will be. Probably over five--I have atleast five ideas for things Quinn and Valor could do. I hope you enjoy how I portray the two. This chapter does not have much about the relationship between Quinn and Valor, because it's just travelling. However, I guarantee there will be more on their bond in the rest of the fic.
> 
> Also, yes, I do allude to events that are part of a fic that is currently unpublished! I've planned out what happens in the Nami fic, and I think because I put all my fics in the same universe, there will quite frequently be references. Hopefully, if I have a fan that reads many of my works, they will enjoy seeing these connections.
> 
> If you want social networking stuff, catch me at [my Tumblr](http://thixotrofic.tumblr.com/).


End file.
